Months of intensive training for Britain’s winter warfare specialists reached its climax as Royal Marines went into battle with their Scandinavian counterparts in the Arctic snow. Some 350 Royal Marines from 40 Commando in Taunton joined Norwegian troops and US Marines in a week-long mock battle trying to invade Swedish territory – with the hosts and Finnish troops blocking … [Read more...]

Royal Marines lit up Arctic fjords and valleys as they laid down mortar rounds in the dark during winter training in Norway. Illumination shells bathed the striking mountainscape around the small town of Bardufoss – roughly half way between Tromsø and Narvik – in an eerie light as the men of 40 Commando’s Mortar Troop conducted their fire missions. The live firing is the … [Read more...]

The Duke of Sussex spent part of Valentine’s Day visiting Naval Service personnel hundreds of miles inside the Arctic Circle. In his first overseas visit in his role as Captain General of the Royal Marines, His Royal Highness was involved in celebrations marking 50 years of UK helicopter exercises in the extreme cold. The Commando Helicopter Force (CHF) – the wings of the … [Read more...]

Iron Man faced up to the Royal Marines as a former colleague turned jet suit inventor demonstrated his kit for commandos. Ex-Royal Marines Reservist Richard Browning – nicknamed the ‘real-life Iron Man’ – flew a 1000bhp jet suit around the Royal Marines’ infamous bottom field assault course at the Commando Training Centre in Lympstone, Devon. Scores of fellow commandos … [Read more...]

Sgt Richard Davies has received a long service and good conduct award for 30 years’ service as a Royal Marine. Richard joined the Royal Marines in Jan 1987 (apparently after only joining for a £10 bet) and after passing basic training was drafted to 42 Commando at Bickleigh near Plymouth. He received his award from Colonel Simon Chapman (Royal Marines) at a ceremony in HM … [Read more...]